Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Thursday that the jailing of two Reuters journalists had nothing to do with freedom of expression and that they can appeal against their seven-year sentences, prompting a sharp rebuke from the United States.
Ms. Suu Kyi, in her first public comment on the case since the two, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were convicted last week, referred to the colonial-era law under which they were charged. “They were not jailed because they were journalists, they were jailed because ... the court has decided that they have broken the Official Secrets Act,” she said at a conference of the World Economic Forum in Hanoi.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley described Ms. Suu Kyi’s remarks as “unbelievable”, in what appeared to be the sharpest direct public rebuke of the Myanmar leader by a U.S. official.
U.S. calls for release
“First, in denial about the abuse the Burmese military placed on the Rohingya, now justifying the imprisonment of the two Reuters reporters who reported on the ethnic cleansing. Unbelievable,” wrote Ms. Haley on Twitter on Thursday.
Speaking at a later news briefing, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Washington disagreed with many of the comments Ms. Suu Kyi had made and added that the journalists should be released immediately.
“That verdict calls into question press freedom in Burma (Myanmar), she said. “We continue to urge the government of Burma to take action immediately to correct this injustice,” she said.
Ms. Suu Kyi made her comments in response to a question from a forum moderator who asked whether she felt comfortable about the reporters being jailed.
The UN, human rights and press freedom groups and various governments criticised the convictions.
In Hanoi, Ms. Suu Kyi questioned whether people were aware of the details of the case against the reporters.